Bikeway Village perfect touch for region's bayfront path

A“Bikeway Village” along the Bayshore Bikeway sounds like a wonderful idea for San Diego County and I think it would bring business and name recognition to Imperial Beach.

With the completion of the Imperial Beach portion of the bikeway, I think Rex Butler has a great idea to turn two warehouses he owns there near the halfway point of the bike trail into shops, restaurants and other uses that would appeal to people.

Many types of people use the bikeway. Bike riders, of course, use it — both the recreational kind (me) and the speedy Spandex wonders. But there are others.

The other day, as I was bike riding, I noticed several tandem bike riders. The one in front was giving a running narration to the one in back. I didn't think much of it until about seven pairs passed me, all doing the same thing. What the heck? Then I realized each bike had a sighted person in front with a person on the back who could not see. Both were smiling from ear to ear, enjoying the salty breeze, the warm day and pedaling like mad.

Families and their dogs stroll and see the sights. Birders hunker down with their binoculars to watch the herons and egrets daintily step their way through the lagoon looking for fish. I saw some sort of official folk taking water samples from the lagoon and making some serious notes. I imagine lovers sit at the bird outlet and talk about the music they want for their wedding and whether or not Aunt Hildy (who drinks too a tad too much and likes to dance on tables) should be invited to the reception. I imagine a worker uses the path to walk from his house to his job at Lydia's Restaurant. During the afternoon lull, he likes to take a breather from the job and walk down to the bike path to see the birds fish and forage for food. Besides the cyclists, all these folks can, could and do use the path.

For those of us squiring around out-of-town guests, what a nice slice of San Diego, National City, Imperial Beach, Chula Vista and Coronado. Treat them to a walk or bike ride along the bikeway. In Imperial Beach, there is the deceptively simple and clever “art” sculpture (which never fails to amaze my nieces and nephews), the pier, the surfboard signage along Palm Avenue, the Tijuana Estuary and more. And, while Imperial Beach has some great restaurants and coffee shops (Katy's Cafe being one of my favorites), bike riders and walkers have to know about them; they have to cross busy surface streets to get to them, and they aren't all that close if you are hoofin' it in.

Building a “village” right on the bikeway is a stroke of genius. It would be visible, safe, convenient and in keeping with Imperial Beach's growing popularity as a nature lover's paradise. The location, overlooking the marshes of Imperial Beach, is a bird and nature lover's paradise. For individuals doing the whole 24-mile trip round the bay, it would be a great halfway point. Cyclists could enjoy a soda or coffee while discussing the sights, and maybe purchase that pink flowered bicycle basket they have been eyeing for the past month (OK, maybe that's just me, again).